@LouiseWolf I remember doing an edit on a radio magazine piece about the subject in 1991 or 2 with the song as a recurrent "bed" for the story. Knowing now that I'm autistic, I'm a bit less ashamed to say I spent the whole time nerding out on the arrangement and production values of the song, and being more wrapped up in the technicals of the edit to remember a singe detail of the actual story. I do remember thinking, "Well the Maori have Waitangi, why doesn't Australia have something similar?"

I'm married to a kiwi these days and we both reckon kiwis are nicer people than Australians, generally.

#Australia #IndigenousAustralia #NewZealand #Aotearoa

#TIL (and re-remembered)

Treaty by Yothu Yindi
This song is about events that took place when I was 8yrs old (1988). But the song itself was released in my 11th year (1991). So my memories of this song is me rocking out to the catchy chorus without a hint of its political significance.

https://youtu.be/Jf-jHCdafZY

Today I (properly) learned about the song’s actual message.

https://genius.com/3635010

Never knew Bob Hawke had actually promised a Treaty - I need to do some further reading on the Barung Statement (1988). Have to admit I’ve never heard of it before today.

Nor did I ever know that Paul Kelly and Midnight Oil were involved (though not at all surprised these guys threw their support behind it).

What are your memories when this song came out? #Australia #IndigenousAustralia

Does anyone know if NZ has a similarly themed song? #NewZealand #Aotearoa

https://yourforestpodcast.com/good-fire-podcast - a podcast about tending the land with fire and other natural wisdom by experienced elders, younger native people, and scholars, mostly indigenous. I was a little curious about how people traditionally used fire in their farming. Now, I'm a believer.

I learned that some native people do a "cultural" burn after they know the land and for something specific in the landscape, e.g., a species or just the whole system, but not all native people do a "cultural" burn. A human-managed forest has trees that are spaced out. One thing this does is allow precipitation to reach the soil and the roots.

I also learned that intentional fires are not just for preventing catestrophic burns that ruin the topsoil. Burning an area causes native plants and grasses to emerge. I bet you can easily raise plants from seed in a swidden. A burned area stays thinned out for eight years. They burn next to something green, next to water, or when rain is imminent. Those with traditional experience say it will go out eventually. People also burn to prevent ticks.

I had to search for a video that they mentioned in season 2, episode 3, but I'm not sure if I found it. Here is what I found: Gathering Voices Society on Vimeo, https://vimeo.com/user105935556.

Here's a fire-related quote that I've posted before:

"low-intensity fires were created in such a way that they did not get out of hand and did not harm trees and other large vegetation. Burning released nutrients to the soil, stimulated regrowth—which provided forage for game and other wildlife—and prevented a buildup of fuel, which would otherwise result in disastrous wildfires. It also created and maintained prairies and meadows, increased the abundance of food-producing bulbs and grasses, enhanced the density and diversity of plants, reduced competition, and helped control insects and disease."

"The effect of these practices ... was to maintain large and small areas at a mid-succession stage by simulating natural disturbance. The disturbances often reduced the dominance of existing communities, creating openings for colonization by other species. While the biomass was reduced temporarily, it was more than made up for by the increased vigor of the new growth. Some areas were burned every two or three years, others every five or six, while others were burned every fifteen years or so." (One-Straw Revolutionary, chapter five)

A similar podcast is The Big Burn, https://laist.com/podcasts/the-big-burn, but only the third and fourth episodes contain indigenous knowledge.

I read that southeast North "American" natives used to burn underbrush, grass, and weeds, too. ("Native American 'Garden Agriculture' in Southeastern North America" by C Margaret Scarry and John F Scarry from World Archaeology, Vol 37, No 2 (Jun 2005) jstor.org/stable/40024233)

#agroforestry #indigenousAustralia @indigenousauthors #IndigenousKnowledge #indigenousPeoples #indigenousPeople #IndigenousAustralians #Aboriginal #FirstNations #LandBack #IndigenousAuthors #NativeAmericans #ClimateChange #NationalParks #CrownLand

@matthewclair #FirstNations of the Australian continent are here #BlackfullaMastodon #IndigenousAustralia #BlackLivesMatter #BlakLivesMatter #DeadlyForever